The Squad
by staceleo
Summary: There comes a time to fight evil with evil. Agent Bella Swan took a risk to destroy the blight corrupting her city. She didn't expect that the actual danger would be to her heart in the guise of a handsome assassin. A Suicide Squad inspired fic.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: I wasn't going to write something new. I've been stuck when it comes to writing for what feels like a million years. It hurts to have stories so close to my fingertips yet so far away.**

 **Then I saw a trailer for the Suicide Squad that sparked a light in me that made me write like a whirlwind. A funnel of letters becoming words that filled a page. Don't fear though because once those floodgates opened my other stories started whispering in my brain again.**

 **This is for all my fandom friends who love me for all my randomness. I'm sometimes funny. I'm sometimes scary. I'm sometimes romantic. I'm always confusing.**

 **I'm a lot like Alice . . . I mean Harley Quinn.**

 **Enjoy. If not, I really don't care. I don't read guest reviews. Alice's White Rabbit does it for me. She deletes the mean ones.**

Chapter 1

She kept spinning around like a whirling dervish. Around and around she goes when she'll stop nobody will ever know.

The thought of this made her giggle loudly. The sound echoed in the corridors.

"Will you shut the fuck up?" A man yelled from another cell. She wasn't sure which one it was. There was so many angry voices in this place. They sounded like hissing vipers. It made her want to take a knife and slit their throats making all the hissing pour out of their throats with the waterfalls of their blood. This caused more giggles and more spinning.

It took some time to figure out how to rig her strait jacket to hang from the upper bars. Those coppers upstairs thought she was stupid. They were the stupid ones. Spinning calmed her. Spinning calmed everyone. She was the goddamn expert not those community college shrinks they had trying to find out what made her tick.

It made her spin even faster. Spin to forget. Spin to feel fucking alive.

Her laughter only got louder.

A different voice screamed, "Can you just fucking sedate her? Some of us need some goddamn sleep."

Spin. All the bars were blurring. She was the butterfly and this was her cage. She was fluttering for survival.

"Shut up, dude. Little girl sounds like bells," The big one snarled. His face was covered in scars and it reminded her of a reptile's skin. He scared her. The reptile man seemed kind but he was the type who would eat her alive.

Her boy wanted to eat her. Fuck her and most likely kill her. Janey with her roses told her that he was death. Her Janey had kissed her so sweetly before sticking the syringe in her neck. Said it would bring her power. All she knew was that it fucking hurt like a bitch.

Her boy. His lips caked with brightly red paint. When he kissed her it made her look like she was covered in his blood. When he ripped his teeth against her breast, she was covered with her own.

"Jazzy, Jazzy, Jazzy—"

Her words started out softly and increased in volume as she spun.

"Jazzy, Jazzy, Jazzy—"

It was a song. It was a curse.

"Shut her up!" The doctor yelled. He was a mad man. She knew best. She used to prescribe him drugs to stop him from killing the nurses.

"Baby, I know where you are! Jazzy, I _know_!"

She could see his tattoos of death as he stood by the water. There were boats being filled with boxes. There was his laugh. It filled her ears. It sounded like destruction. It sounded like love.

They stood and watched her spin. Tyler wrinkled his nose in disgust at the sight. "She's insane, Bella."

"You're telling me nothing that I don't know, Ty." She looked into his deep, brown eyes. Their affair ended long ago but occasionally she was still a sucker for his dark skin and bright smile. It was not so freely given anymore and she missed it. Bella stiffened up and willed her brain to push old affection to the back of her mind. Affection made you weak.

"Mike is going to shut this all down. I'll have to agree with him. You need to trust the law enforcement," he sagely counseled.

"The law enforcement lets a grown man dressed like a bat do all the work, Tyler. I don't think they can handle this." She saw the copper headed man clutch the bars and look up to where the stood. Bella just gazed at him with a scowl. Her beating heart she just attributed to stress and not his crooked grin.

Tyler took a deep breath. "If this is about your dad—"

"This is about the city and Alice Brandon is the only one who can find him. The others will stop him and his friends. They prevail and they get freedom. They fail and we throw them under the damn bus. It's a win for us either way." She still stared at the man in the cell. He had green eyes that she remembered noticing in his mug shot.

"You sure?" Tyler sounded nervous. It was the appropriate reaction.

"Absolutely." Bella had no qualms only a head full of hope.

She looked down at Edward Cullen. The man never missed when he had a target in his sights. He winked and blew her a kiss.

She stifled a gasp and muttered, "Fucking villains."

Alice kept spinning and spinning.

"Jazzy, Jazzy, Jazzy—"


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Comic books are crazy and so is this thing. It's loosely based on the comics so I'm taking liberties with a lot of it. I'm having a lot of fun making Alice insane. It's a new form of relaxation.**

 **Enjoy!**

Chapter 2

"I think you forgot what a calculated risk is, Swan," Agent Newton snapped. He leaned against a rusty metal desk in the middle of the old warehouse in the outskirts of town. "This idea is dangerous and irresponsible."

Bella always thought that Newton tried too hard to act tough with his military styled buzzcut. It reminded her of the tiny blades of dead grass that were fried into dirty brown wisps at her grandmother's dirt farm in Nevada. The man's face in contrast looked like a drooling infant. It made it impossible for Bella to take him seriously.

She spun slowly on an office chair that had seen better days. It's fabric was tattered and torn. Maybe Alice Brandon was rubbing off on her just a little bit. Hours of watching that woman and her twirling in her cage made Bella calm. It was like watching fish gently floating in a fish tank. Perhaps she should get a goldfish instead. It was more sensible than staring at the criminally insane.

"Mikey, I have a doctorate. I know good and well what a calculated risk is." She stopped her chair's movement and stared at Newton in the face. Her expression was sour. "Just because you were overruled, doesn't mean you get to be a bitch."

Tyler stood in the shadows and watched the exchange. The room was thick with animosity between Bella and Michael. Tyler was not one to let this toxic atmosphere fester. He joked, "The only dangerous thing I can see is you catching something deadly from that chair, Bella."

"That's because I know there will chance I might need a tetanus shot and I don't care about the risk, Ty." She gave him a tiny smile that didn't reach her eyes, but she appreciated Tyler trying to lighten the mood. "This chair is the only real risk. Those animals that are about to paraded in here are going to be carefully controlled. There's a plan in place and I have no doubt it will be carried out with extreme efficiency."

Michael threw his hands in the air in frustration. "I heard they have powers, Swan! This is lunacy!"

"They do, Newton. You wouldn't believe the things I've seen in Arkham. As soon as that goody goody alien in blue tights came on the scene in Metropolis, all these freaks with powers popped up. At least when it was just the Bat we had run of the mill mobsters." She sighed and rubbed her eyes. The migraine was coming back with a vengeance. They were so frequent these days. The constant stress that she was living with was forever baring down on her so it seemed that her head was going to explode.

Bella missed believing in good actions prevailing over evil. Knights on white horses slaying the dragons that tormented the villagers. That was just a fantasy of a little girl whose dreams didn't tell her the truth, Superheroes don't save people. They let the bad guys live to terrorize another day. Bella pulled out the lucky quarter her father gave her and rubbed George Washington's face. She should have tossed it in the river. It certainly didn't give him any luck.

"Bells, Charlie—" Tyler placed a hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged it off.

She looked up at his face with a frown. Her brain felt like wooden stakes were being plunged deep into her skull. "Is lying unmoving in a nursing home. He's not here to give me a pep talk about trusting Gordon. Gordon lets vigilantes do his job. Vigilantes who don't know what a kill shot is. This city is getting worse every day and—"

Michael rolled his eyes. "There's no talking sense into her, Tyler?"

"None," Tyler replied grimly. He looked around the dirty warehouse with the dim lights overhead feeling like he was in some seedy seventies movie where the ending is the whole plot going to hell. He trusted Bella. He really did. The question was if his trust was based on the fact that he was still madly in love with her? A part of him thought it was probably the truth. He would follow her into the pits of hell.

The radio attached to Bella's waist crackled and sounded like an electric storm in the almost empty room. Officer Yorkie's voice filled the room, "Agent Swan, we are outside and ready for your word."

"All inmates accounted for?" She didn't trust any of them not to try to escape.

There was no way she could fail in this plan. Bella had her reputation to uphold and she wanted revenge so badly it haunted her dreams.

"We had to taser the big one," Officer Yorkie admitted. "Went crazy when we tried to get him into the truck. I guess he got agitated when Dr. Molina gave them the shots."

"Is he breathing, Officer?"

"Yes, ma'am," he muttered.

She smiled slightly as she stood. "Then there's no harm done, Officer. Bring them in."

Tyler looked at her in alarm. Bella shutting herself was one thing, but she was becoming heartless. Her kindness was disappearing right before his eyes.

Bella looked at Tyler's face and shook her head at him. The movement hurt her but she refused to let anyone see. Pain was almost her friend now. It never left her and she could count on it always being with her. "We need to control them by fear, Ty. Don't forget that all of those monsters are a killers. They wouldn't hesitate to snap your neck and then go eat some pizza. Don't start feeling sorry for them."

"I am going to register a complaint," Michael told her as the large door opened and the truck pull in.

"Fine, Newton. If it helps you sleep at night then go for it."

A tiny part of her wished that one of the inmates would lose control and take care of her Newton problem. Bella could be rid of Newton and it would a powerful tool in showing the inmates of what happens if they disobeyed her. She tried to squash those murderous thoughts. After this was all over she would quit. Go to a beach on an island and find her old self again. The woman who liked stupid comedy sitcoms and eating out of containers of ice cream. She missed how she used to be.

She stiffened up as the rogues gallery exited the truck looking dazed. Nine unsavory individuals were lined up in front of her. Their expressions were a jumble of emotions. Some were confused while others held unconcealed hatred. Miss Brandon was grinning like a loon. Those expressions she understood. Edward Cullen was the mystery to her.

He looked at her like a piece of meat. It was a look of unbridled lust. Bella was a mask of indifference on the outside, but inside she felt heat rising. It was anger at his disrespect and the fact that she was letting him effect her.

Edward Cullen winked at her once again.

Tyler went for his gun. "You will treat Agent Swan with respect."

"Agent Crowley. stand down." Bella stilled his hand. "Let's get started shall we?"

Slowly she went to the desk to grab the folder that held all the information about the criminals before her. All eyes were on her back as another burst of pain hit her. Bella squeezed her eyes tightly willing it to go away.

"Ma'am, why are we here? It seems suspect to me that we were given our street clothes, but you keep us in chains," a man politely questioned behind her.

She turned slowly to look at former military man. Garrett Montgomery was the only one that she had her doubts about his guilt. There were others in higher positions of authority that wanted this man to remain locked away in the dark at Arkham, but Bella wanted to see if could prove the heroism that she had heard in stories and earn his freedom. She needed a leader to control them and this was the man to do it.

Perhaps the goodness in her heart wasn't completely gone after all.

"I need a group of individuals that can remove some problems that are plaguing the city. I have a theory that to get rid of the worst of society that you need to have those that are like minded to do the job. Your task, if you choose to accept it, is to help me rid Gotham of the blight that is only getting worse."

A handsome man with movie star good looks flipped his head to get a lock of blond locks out of his eyes. His eyes were bright blue and held malice in them. "What's in it for us?"

"Your freedom is what's at stake, Dr. Cullen. Your other choice is going right back into a cell at the mental hospital," Bella explained. It was a toss-up between the scientist or Jane's plant poison concoctions. Between the two, Dr. Carlisle Cullen was slightly less crazy. Carlisle's son, Edward, looked at his father with barely concealed disdain and stayed as far away as possible. Bella imagined she could use their animosity to her advantage. "You have been all selected for your special . . . Gifts."

Michael frowned and muttered, "Insanity."

Bella looked over the motley crew. Emmett McCarty with his scarred face that looked like scales was picked for his super strength. Esme Platt was mind was damaged, but she had uncontrolled magic in her fingertips that Bella believed she could train. Peter Grant had unfathomable speed and a throwing arm that could be used to the team's advantage. Rosalie Hale was an expert in martial arts and swords who was a lethal black widow. Jacob Black with his a masterpiece of tattoos inked all over his body was chosen for his ability with explosives. Edward Cullen never missed when he shot his gun. His aim was impeccable and he would take any job even the impossible.

"Why the fuck is Baby Crazy Pants here?" Peter Grant asked looking at Alice Brandon. "She would be an awesome fuck, but other than that she's gonna slit all our damn throats."

This made Alice cackle. The woman looked like a punk rock baby doll in her tight baseball shirt and ripped shorts. Her hair was pulled into tiny pigtails all over her head.

Bella narrowed her eyes. "Miss Brandon has an important job. If you don't treat her with some sort of kindness, she will slit your throat and I'll happily let her do it. Miss Brandon is a worthy part of this team and—"

"You want me to lead you to Jazzy," she trilled as she plopped down on the dusty floor. "He's getting the old band together, right? The Bird Man, Question Master, and the Snake all like to come and play. I see them in my dreams."

"That's right, Miss Brandon. The Clown left you in Arkham to rot while he escaped to play without you," Bella told her gently. "He wants you to fade away."

"Bella—" Tyler's tone was a warning.

Bella ignored him. "He ruined you, Miss Brandon."

"I want to bash his brains out and kiss them," she said bitterly.

"Good girl," Bella whispered. Tyler watched in worry. A part of him wanted to get himself excused from this operation but he couldn't leave Bella. There was still a chance to pull her back from the abyss.

"Fuck this shit!" Jacob Black snarled. He rushed toward Michael and wrapped his chains around the agent's neck. The tattooed man pulled hard making the agent gag as he was being choked. "Let me out of here or I kill the asshole."

Bella gave him a smile that caused Jacob to loosen his hold on Michael. It was possible, Jacob believed that she might be the real crazy one.

"Go right ahead, Mr. Black. Kill him. If you were even to make it out of here, I have snipers surrounding the building to take you out before you even take two steps out the door. Actually, you won't even make it that far." She pulled a chain out of her shirt that held a black pin pad which had several buttons. "There are twelve of these given to agents that I trust. If anything happens to me or my partners here, I push this button and your insides explode."

Jacob dropped his hold on Michael who crawled away clutching his neck. The agent gasped, "Goddamn it, Bella!"

Esme Platt started rocking back and forth. She was lost in her own little world. The reptilian giant was as out of it as Esme, he barely acknowledged the drama going on around him. Bella imagined that it was several tasers that brought Emmett down. His dark eyes were in a daze.

Dr. Carlisle looked intrigued. "How did you possibly get that done, Agent?"

"Your updated immunizations were microchips," Bella explained. "If you think about it, this way we're the ones that are actually immunized against you killing us and escaping."

Rosalie Hale finally spoke. Words that sounded like shards of ice. "I'm going to kill you one day."

"Good luck with that," Bella replied. It was something her father always used to say. Thoughts of her father and getting revenge gave Bella strength to stand up to all of these monsters. She knew she was wearing a mask to hide her feelings. It was the only thing to keep her safe.

Alice rolled on the floor and sang, "Jazzy, I hear you!"

Edward Cullen started to laugh. "I only thought you were hot, sweetheart. Look at the crafty girl scaring the big bads. You're going to be a lot of fun."

Bella went over to him and stared into his eyes. "This is a mission, Mr. Cullen. You will do your job if you want your freedom."

"I can't wait to be buried inside you, baby," Edward said. He licked his lips. "I bet you're tight."

Peter started cackling. Tyler almost rushed at Edward, but Michael held him back. "Let her handle this."

There was a flicker of admiration that Michael held for Bella at playing this dangerous game. He should hate her for almost getting him killed, but if she pulled this off they all would get medals.

Bella wrinkled her nose. "Keep pushing and I'll make you explode."

"Oh baby girl, I'm counting on it and it's going to be incredible." Edward made a kissing face at her and Bella's heart beat faster. She knew better to let beautiful faces affect her. Michael could handle Edward. Bella was going to stay away from temptation.

Alice's singing pulled Bella out of her fixation on Edward, "I had a little turtle. I named him Jazzy Jazz. I put him in the bathtub to see if he could swim. My baby drank up all my fucking water. My baby ate up all my fucking soap. Then he got a bubble stuck right inside his greedy throat. I took my pretty bat to hit it and . . . Bam! Bam! Bam! He popped!"

The insane woman started laughing hysterically and rolled around on the floor.

Bella took a deep breath and looked at Tyler. She attempted to give him a reassuring smile. This just had to work.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: I'm heading off to vacation, but I'll try to write there.**

 **Enjoy!**

Chapter 3

"Mommy darling, this soup is rotten. Its cold and smells nasty. We must terminate the chef. Silly me, Mommy! I already did that. His head in the oven." The man tossed the bowl of cold chowder onto the woman's face who sat across from him. The china bowl hit the floor and shattered into millions of pieces. Globs of white goo slid down her face and onto her silk blouse. Her mouth was wide open in a soundless scream.

He laughed at the sight as he grabbed a goblet of red wine. Placing his cowboy boots onto the table, Jasper Whitlock regarded the unblinking eyes of the man that sat next to the woman. "Now Papa, please don't be so cross. This is all your fault after all. If only you gave me some affection, I would become a proper banker just like you.

"Dude, shouldn't you just bury them?" James announced as he strolled into the room. Jasper just rolled his eyes at him. The Hunter was a ruthless psychopath who stalked his victims with a tenacity that Jasper would have found interesting if the rest of the Hunter's technique finishing off those victims wasn't so messy and uninspiring.

Jasper sneered at James. "You're interrupting a family moment. Mommy wants you to put on a shirt. She finds you indecent."

Hunter always strolled around with no shirt on. Alice had said he was a cutie pie once. It made Jasper want to strangle Hunter with his long, dirty blond pony tail. It was going to happen soon enough but for now Jasper needed him around.

"She's dead, Clown," James thought it was eerie hanging out with corpses. You kill them and move on quickly before rigor mortis sets in. Originally, James thought crashing in this mansion was going to be cool. A stocked bar and a comfy king sized bed for a couple nights was going to be like a little slice of heaven. The Clown keeping around his rotting parents put a damper on everything. "Those people are your parents, man! That's all sort of cold."

The Clown was a maniac. He was so insane that he made James look like a choir boy. James thought the Clown's curly hair dyed various shades of primary colors looked like a little kid colored it with magic markers. His chest was covered in tattoos that the Clown did himself with an old hunting knife. James was surprised it never got infected. The kind of insanity that Clown had was dangerous. It was the kind of crazy that would get you caught.

Jasper gave a chilling smile. "They might be my dear mama and papa or they might not. I like them and want to keep them. You have a problem with that?"

He grabbed a steak knife and plunged it into the wood of the table with a smirk.

James threw his hands up in the air. "Nah. We're good. The rest of the boys should be here soon. Are we getting Alice out for this? She enjoys this type of fucked up shit you pull."

The knife was pulled out of the table and Jasper imagined plunging it into James's skull. "We're on a break. Her constant chatting was driving me insane. I wanted to cut out her tongue but that would be a shame because she quite talented with it. She can stay right where she is in Arkham. It will keep her out of trouble."

"That's cool," James told him quietly. She was the next game he wanted to play. The ultimate prize. How can you anticipate the whereabouts and reactions of a woman who is truly unhinged? It would be the challenge of his life. He would get to her somehow. "Just curious, dude. There some cases of beer in the basement. I'll stock the fridge."

"You do that." Jasper grabbed his wine and messily guzzled it down. The wine made his painted red lips look even more garish than usual. The Hunter's interest in Alice didn't sit well with Jasper. She was his to do with what he wanted. He created her after all. If he wanted to love her, he would. If he wanted to kill her, he would.

James was going to die. This was a fact and there was no question. It was all about timing and James's clock was winding down fast.

Jasper laughed and it echoed through the dining room.

Tick tock. Tick tock.

XXXXXX

Michael hadn't stopped complaining about the accommodations. Bella could hear him through the thin walls of the motel complaining to Tyler about every aspect of the seedy dive. She didn't know where he expected to them to house a bunch of criminals. The Ritz Carleton was definitely out of the question.

Bella's headache was returning, but she continued to unpack Alice's meager belongings into the scratched up dresser. She had previously got the other two women settled in to their rooms next door. Esme was already fast asleep. The day was far more stimulus than the woman was used to. Rosalie was probably lying in bed plotting everyone's demise.

On the bed with a faded comforter and rock hard pillows sat Alice. She looked tired. The woman went from manic highs to despondent lows in the blink of the eye.

Quietly, she asked, "How do you want me to get to Jazzy"

"We lay low at first. Then the media will report that the governor has released some of you due to budget cuts and others, like you, because you were rehabilitated. We set you up with a new practice and hope that Jasper reaches out to you. The others will go back out to try and track down the others. It's a wide net that we're casting and your boyfriend isn't the only one we're trying to catch." Bella turned to look at the sullen Alice.

"He left me in there to rot," she told Bella sadly.

"He did."

Alice cocked her head to the side. "I really loved my work. Do you think my old patients will come back to me?"

"Agents will be posing as patients, Miss Brandon," Bella explained. "I can't have you—"

"The criminally insane can't help make people sane," Alice interrupted. She sounded completely lucid like the time at the Academy Bella heard her give a talk about the mind of the psychopath. "You know when I first met Jasper I thought I could fix him."

Bella went to sit next to Alice on the bed. "I imagine you thought you could."

"He just sucked me in and I followed by sucking him off. A few whispered words of destruction and ruining me made me get on my knees in front of him. It was all licking and getting off after that." She shook her head. "I gave everything up for him. Did you know he wears scalps as jaunty chapeaus? It's adorable!"

"No, umm—" Bella felt uncomfortable as Alice moved closer.

Alice took Bella's chin her hand and rubbed her lips against Bella's slowly. "I would do so many naughty things to you right now but I can't. Janey would poison you and my Jazzy would cut off your head. Instead you can be my best little doll."

"What?" Bella tried to move as Alice pulled her tightly against her chest.

Alice peppered Bella's face with chaste kisses. "I can dress you up like a princess. You can sit on my bed until I'm ready to play with my pretty dolly. You'll be dead, but I can record you voice. It's very musical. I want to dance to it."

"Miss Brandon—" Bella warned as pushed the woman away and moved to head to the door.

"I know I'll go boom if anything happens." She raised her arms in the air and yawned. "You'll be my best friend, Bella Swan?"

"Sure," she lied as she headed out the door. Alice smiled brightly and threw her a kiss.

Bella locked Alice's door and rested her head against the cool metal. The chilly air around her did nothing to ease her angrily pulsating brain.

"You okay, Agent?"

Bella turned to find Edward Cullen leaning against the building smoking a cigarette. The man seemed so at ease in his black tee-shirt and jeans as he smoked.

"Those things will kill you," she pointed out, motioning to his cigarette.

"There's so many things that will probably kill me first, sweetheart." He threw the cigarette to the ground and crushed it with his boot. "So what's the problem?"

"The fact that I don't know why the hell I'm doing this. That my brain hurts so much that I just want it to end me," she told him without thinking. "Forget I said anything."

"I know how to get rid of headaches." Edward grabbed her hand.

Bella let him hold it. "Two aspirins or a couple tylenols?"

"Something better," he answered and she let him lead her to behind the motel. Her brain screamed at her to stop this but she wanted so much to taste, to touch, to feel something again.

Edward's hands wormed their way under her shirt. "Your skin is so damn soft. I want to wear it."

"Gross." Bella grabbed the bottom of his shirt. "You going to kill me?"

"I'm going to fuck you, Agent Swan." Edward pulled off her shirt. He unclasped her bra to fondle her breasts. "How's that headache?"

"We're in an alley. I can't be exposed like this," she half-heartedly protested. Her brain momentarily gaining control over her desire.

Edward pushed her against the brick of the wall. Her skin rubbed against the mortar and it cut her. She winced and he smiled. He pulled her skirt down and he moved his hand into her underwear. His fingers rubbing and sliding into her. "It's the perfect place. I think you like the dirty side of things. Do you play sweet virgin with your partner? All white lace panties and satin sheets? Do you pretend to orgasm hard as his tiny dick comes in you? Baby, you like it hard and rough. You need this."

Bella ripped his shirt off. It was pure lust and rage. He was making her weak. She hated it and loved the idea that she could make him hers. "I'm naked then so are you, handsome."

Her nails raked over his hard chest. They pierced the skin making angry red marks.

"I only have a few good shirts, girl." He smiled.

"I'll fucking buy you new ones." She unbuttoned his jeans and palmed his dick. Edward moaned and still his fingers. Bella bit him on the shoulder. "Don't you dare stop moving those fingers."

He kept them moving until her eyes started fluttering and when she pulled him in for a kiss it was brutal. Edward's heart woke for the first time since Tanya shattered it into millions of pieces.

Edward stared at her with open eyes as she pulled his pants down around his ankles. She looked at him completely naked. She whispered in his ear, "I like you without underwear. Never wear it. It makes my life easier."

He sucked on her nipples and she tugged on his hair making him wince. Edward wanted more of the pain she dealt out.

He pulled her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He entered her hard and made her cry out as her back hit the wall.

Edward asked her worriedly, "Are you hurt?"

"Harder, Edward." She needed this. The stress of everything was destroying her and this was a slight chance of relief.

It was the most beautiful thing Edward had ever heard. He moved into her with punishing movements and she repaid him with bites and kisses. When he came inside her, Bella took his face into her hands and kissed him so gently that Edward had a glimmer of hope that this woman was his redemption.

Not that was he going to let her know that.

"You wanna go back to you room?" He slapped her ass. "I see another hole waiting for me."

Bella glared and threw on her shirt and skirt. She wrapped her bra around his neck. "Not tonight, Romeo. Tomorrow is a busy day."

"I'm going to be you fucking everything, sweetheart," Edward pulled her to him and stuck his hands between her legs.

Bella smiled before she bit Edward's lips. She licked the blood off of them slowly. This was madness, but her headache was gone and she felt a lightness in her being for the first time in years.

He looked at her in surprise as she told him. "Not if I'm yours first."


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: This thing is just nuts.**

 **Enjoy.**

Chapter 4

Her reflection didn't show anything different as she stood in front of the mirror in just her robe. Her image was framed in the condensation. Bella's eyes were still brown. Her hair was still wavy in the humid air that filled the bathroom. There was still a moon shaped birthmark on her breast bone. It was all the same as always on the outside. Inside her brain, however, was a mystery.

She didn't know who she was anymore.

Bella took a deep breath and tried to steady herself. Breathe in. Breathe Out. She could feel the pain in her head start to return slowly at the base of her brain.

The woman who inhabited her last night was reckless. Bella would never had let a convict like Edward Cullen touch her like that before. He was a full blown killer and the way his fingers moved over her skin—

The robe's belt was loosened and the fabric covering Bella's body fell to the floor.

Everything the same, yet she could feel there was a darkness seeping into her blood. She imagined that the red was turning into black. This wasn't her. She was always such a good person, but it was slipping away.

There was a certainty in her soul that she was going slowly insane. Bella was just so fucking sad all the time.

Her hands stroked her skin the way Edward touched her last night. Rough movements against her chest. His hand between her legs making her quake.

A sigh escaped her lips at the memory. The darkness sucking her down into a deep hole.

There was a knock at the bathroom door.

"Bells, you okay? The press conference is starting in a few and we need to get to the warehouse," Tyler's muffled voice was heard through the door. He would do anything to be in there with her. He still dreamt of the nights they spent together.

"Oh. Right." Bella placed her forehead on the cool glass of the mirror. "Grab me a couple aspirins, please."

The only answer was to stay away from Cullen. Bella prayed that she could.

She whispered to her reflection, "Who _am_ I?"

XXXXXX

There was an old television that was set up in the warehouse on a metal cart. Bella sat on one of the metal chairs and rubbed her temple slowly. The throbbing was intense and her mood was sour.

"Bella, please go lie down in your room," Tyler insisted as he rubbed her shoulders. "Mike and I got this."

Michael was messing with the gun in his holster and glaring at the inmates that were in their custody. He was ready to shoot every one of them.

Bella looked up at Tyler with a little smile. "Newton can't be trusted with a goldfish. Give me a couple minutes for the aspirin to kick in. I'll be good. Why don't you turn on the press conference? It should be starting anytime now."

Edward was leaning against the wall chewing on a toothpick and watching every move that Tyler and Bella made. When Tyler headed to the television, Edward sauntered over and plopped down onto the chair next to Bella.

"Son, come sit by me for a moment," Carlisle called out to Edward but he was ignored. She sometimes wondered if releasing related inmates was really a good idea. Unfortunately, she needed them both. Rumor had it that the elder Cullen had pushed his son into a life of crime to get to rid of his enemies who also created illegal pharmaceuticals. That Edward's amazing aim was due to his father pumping him full of dangerous toxins. To say that these two men had issues was an understatement.

In a hushed tone, Edward asked, "How long have you been fucking Agent Goody Two-Shoes?"

"We're partners." Bella wouldn't look at him. "You should sit with the rest if the group."

"He looks like he has a small dick," he whispered in her ear. "Is it the size of a broken pencil?"

Sitting crosslegged on the floor, Alice watched them while she drew pictures of naked clowns on the dirty floors. She gave Bella a wink.

Bella rubbed her neck as she looked over at the TV, still continuing to ignore Edward. There were aides to the governor who were busily setting up the podium like worn out worker bees.

Edward scooted over closer. "Is he so gentle that you just take a nap during fucking? Don't you like it so hard that it bruises? Did I bruise you, baby?"

Turning slowly, Bella gazed into Edward's green eyes. "You made me feel something for approximately ten minutes. Green with jealousy isn't a very attracted color on you, Cullen. Right now, I need you to give me a fucking break."

His head moved to her ear. "If you just give me a moment in the back of those moving vans with you, I can make you so relaxed that you'll feel like jelly."

"Is it all about sex with you?"

She might hate him, but she wanted him too.

He shrugged. "I only like shooting guns and having sex. I must say that being fully inside of you is a million times better then taking out a target."

Bella was about to snap at Edward, but Emmett McCarty cried out, "Isn't there _any_ food around here?"

The big man with his ripped Metallica tee-shirt sat in front of the television. He was scratching the web of scars that crisscrossed his face like a web. The complaints about not having enough food was never-ending. McCarty would clutch his stomach and whine until he could devour a box of crackers.

"You _need_ to shut your fat mouth," Rosalie Hale hissed from her seat next to him. She twirled a lock of her blonde hair around her pointer finger. It reminded Bella of spun gold. The woman was a beauty in her tight blue dress. A lethal beauty who had put six husbands into the ground quite violently. "I'll split your neck in half and then you'll get nothing down your throat. That can be something more appropriate for you to complain about."

Emmett chuckled. "I think you like me, Blondie. Your sweet talk is making me horny."

Rosalie's blue eyes fixed on him. Bella was certain the woman was moments from killing Emmett.

"Hey, I think this will tide you over," Tyler announced as he rummaged through the metal desk and pulled out a granola bar. He tossed it over to Emmett. Bella remembered seeing it the day before and noticing it was three years passed the expiration date.

That wasn't a problem for Emmett. He opened it up with gusto. "This should tide me over for a few minutes. Thanks, Dude."

"I think the press conference is starting soon," Carlisle announced as he pushed his glasses into his face. He looked over to Esme Platt who was twitching in the corner. She stared blankly at the television. The man usually hadn't any use for the fairer sex, but something about this woman made him curious. Perhaps it was her auburn hair that reminded him of a lost obsession he had long ago. "If you let me have my medical bag, I can give her something."

Alice stretched and picked her nose. "Why don't you give us _all_ goodies, Doc? I need candy!"

Bella stood and shook her head. "Dr. Weber is on her way to work with Miss Platt. Your assistance isn't needed at this time."

The young psychiatrist was studying those who exhibited unusual abilities using their minds. Unexplained phenomenons that Dr. Weber thought that could be controlled. Her theories and methods were controversial which meant that she would be perfect for the job of dealing with this group.

"We are going to either be highly sought after allies or targets when Whitlock and his crew find out that we've been released." Garrett looked solemn as he watched the Governor speak in front of a wall covered with their mugshots. "I hope you have a good plan, Agent Swan."

"I have a plan. Its up to all of you to make it a good one." Bella rubbed her neck. "Listen—"

Jacob threw his hands up in his air and wailed, "Fuck it, woman! Aro is going to kill my ass because of you! I have his fucking money hidden at my Pa's house."

Bella smiled. "You're the fly that's going to bring that spider right to us, Mr. Black."

"You fucking bitch!" He lunged at her and Bella expertly pulled a taser out of her holster. She took him down in a second, making the tattooed man shake on the floor in agony.

"Does anyone else have an issue?" She looked around at the group before her. There was silence. "Good."

Edward smiled at her proudly and clapped. Bella just frowned back at him.

A cell phone began to play the _X-Files_ theme song. It made several of the criminals jump in surprise. Alice started giggling. She cried out, "Somebody likes aliens! I think they probed me once. Maybe that was just my Jazzy. Stuck it in deep!"

"Crowley here." It was Tyler's phone. His face grew grim as he glanced at Bella. He moved to the corner of the room and spoke to the caller in a hushed tone.

Michael frowned. "This can't be good."

"No, it can't," Bella agreed.

In the pit of her stomach, Bella knew something very wrong was happening. The way Tyler was looking at her as he talked was just nerve wracking. The spikes in her brain increased their attack.

Peter walked up to the television in a huff. "The Governor is an asshole. Refused to pardon me and shit. I think watching some _Loony Tunes_ is in order. They have to be saner than all of you."

Alice blew a large bubble with her gum and it popped loudly. "Petey?"

"Yes, my demented little flower?" He looked at her with a jaunty smile and grabbed his crotch. "Looking for this?"

"I think your head will look very lovely on my mantle." She blew another bubble.

He shrugged. "Of course it would. I'm a very handsome man."

Alice rolled her eyes. Peter was annoying her by breathing. She was getting so restless. Wishes filled her brain. She needed to fly out of here. Eat ice cream in a sugar cone. Dance naked in fountain. Paint her body with the blood of vagrants. Jane would totally be up for all that. Poor Jane was stuck in that hole in Arkham. Alice needed a new playmate fast.

Alice glanced at Bella. How to get her to play with her. The small woman stood and started spinning. Singing in her high pitched voice, "Bella, spin with me! Round and round! I want to fly like a hummingbird!"

Carlisle groaned, "Can I please sedate her or knock her out permanently? The second option is preferable."

The situation once again was spiraling out of control. Jacob was still moaning on the floor like a wounded animal. Garrett looked at the weary looking Miss Swan. She was his ticket to freedom. He liked the tough woman and if she needed his help, she would get it. "You all need to shut up before I shut you all up with my fists."

Bella continued to rub her head. The inmates were running the asylum.

Before she could yell at them all to be quiet, Tyler rushed over to her. "Bells, something's happened at the hospital and—"

"What happened?" Bella grabbed her father's quarter in her pocket and rubbed her fingers over the groove's of the president's face. A small source of comfort.

Tyler shook his head sadly. "I don't know much right now. They are still figuring things out at the scene."

"Is my father dead?"

"Bella, I just don't know." The agent on the phone was still attempting to get information.

"I need to get to Dad," she said in a panic.

"I should take care of this."

"Ty, it's my father." She took his arm. "I need to go to him."

Tyler shook his head. "You don't understand. I have to go with you. Listen—"

"Stay with the animals. I'll have Grant and Josh come in here with you and Newton." She headed to the door.

"You shouldn't go alone!" Tyler pleaded.

Edward came over with a smirk. "I'll go with her."

"Like hell you will!" Tyler wanted to pummel the criminal. He was always to close to Bella. It made Tyler feel ill.

"If I have to stay here too long with dear old Daddy, I'll kill him and it will be a mess. You need to stay here anyway. The crew has some respect for you, buddy. That douche guy you work with will be slaughtered the minute you and Princess walk out the door." Edward took Bella's shaking arm. His face grew serious. "I'll be there for her. I promise. I'm not completely a monster."

"I highly disagree," Tyler muttered as he looked at the rest of the inmates looking very interested in their conversation. "Go with her. Behave or I'll end you. Bella, if you need me I'm only a phone call away."

She only nodded as fear overtook her every thought.

XXXXXX

Outside of the hospital, police cars were everywhere. Inside there was a steady activity of officers running around. Some of them looked nauseous at whatever horrors were observed inside.

Bella hadn't spoke one word since leaving the warehouse. Edward had tried his best to pull her out of the darkness overtaking her. He knew that feeling and for some reason he hated seeing it happening to her. She was such a hard-ass, but there was something more to her that drew him in. The agent was more than a nice pair of breasts.

When she finally spoke it was to a glassy eyed looking officer. "What floor?"

The man looked at her with wide eyes. "The sixth floor, Ma'am."

Bella gasped, but quickly stifled her emotions. "Come on, Cullen."

"I heard about you old man, sweetheart," Edward told her in the elevator. Bella was up against the side and rubbing her temple. He moved so he was pressed against her body. "Story goes that he's a tough and I know quite a few thugs that are terrified of him."

She grabbed his chin. "If this is about getting a quickie in an elevator than you can forget it. My father can be dead up there and you're being a pervert."

His hands clutched her hips. "No. I'm making sure that you understand that more than half of those police officers up there are on the take from far worse assholes than I am. You stay strong, baby. Don't show an ounce of weakness with those goons because it will get back to Jasper, Aro, or Marcus. Whether your dad is dead or alive, you keep it cool, because you aren't doing him any favors crying like you're weak."

All his words were so very true.

"Thanks," Bella whispered.

Edward's reply was a bruising kiss. He then added in her ear, "Your stronger than you think. Remember that."

When they reached the sixth floor, there were bodies everywhere lying on the linoleum like discarded baby dolls. Blood streaked the walls where nurses and doctors were disemboweled and scattered so Bella had to hop over them as she pushed past shocked police officers.

She felt sick to her stomach.

Agent Molina ran passed her as he barked into his phone, "We need to put out APB on Swan."

Her heart dropped. Someone must have kidnapped him.

Edward grabbed her arm. "Steady, girl."

His touch was unwanted and Bella pushed him off.

The elderly police detective with the gut that hung over his pants looked at Bella nervously. "Agent Swan—"

"Where is he, Jenks?" She spat.

"Agent Swan, you shouldn't be here right now. Commissioner Gordon—"

She grabbed him by the collar and hissed, "Where is my father?"

He swallowed hard. "You need to see the security camera feed at the nurse's station. Come on."

The nurse's station was no longer a pristine white that was disinfected from all unwanted germs, but now it was covered in blood and various pieces of organs. CSI technicians were taking samples with their hands covered in rubber gloves while a group of police officers were watching a screen sitting on the desk and taking notes.

Jenks waved them away. "Agent Swan needs to see this."

A younger female officer looked at Bella sadly. "I'm so very sorry."

Bella looked at the black and white images on the screen to see Jasper Whitlock leaning over her father's comatose body. Her breath hitched in fear. Charles Swan's body still seemed strong in his slumber like it always had, but it was his face that had been forever changed. It wasn't enough that Whitlock had to put Charlie in a coma when her father tried to stop the madman from murdering an innocent woman in an alleyway. He then had to disfigure half of Charlie's face with acid. Her father's skin looked like an oozing river of flesh. His one eye would be forever peering because the chemical had burned off his right eyelid.

"What is he doing to him?" Bella asked as she stared at Whitlock plunging a syringe in her father's arm. She wished she could jump into the monitor and strangle Whitlock. "He's killing him."

As the words escaped Bella's lips, Charlie sat up and looked around him in the daze. Jasper was speaking to him, but the security cameras provided no sound. The monster pressed something in her father's hand that led to Charlie's disfigured mouth to turn up into a smile. Jasper gave Charlie a bow and skipped out of the room.

Edward took Bella's hand and gave it a squeeze as they watched a nurse enter Charlie's room. The nurse looked at the now awake police chief in shock and rushed over to help him. Charlie lifted up the object that Jasper had handed to him. It was a quarter. Bella stuffed her hand in her pocket and pulled out her father's lucky quarter.

"I have his quarter," she said sadly. "That's not his."

Charlie flipped it into the air and looked down with his sickening smile on his face. He plunged a pair of surgical scissors in the nurse's brain. There was a flurry of activity as other staff entered and her father swiftly killed them with whatever medical supplies were nearby. Scalpels were pushed into guts and one unfortunate doctor was strangled with a hospital gown.

Bella watched in disbelief as the man she grew up admiring was now a blood thirsty killer. Chief Charles Swan was always so steadfast in his morals and how the law was the absolute authority. This man on the screen was a complete stranger.

"Where is he?" She asked with a face made of stone, yet her insides were in turmoil.

Edward could feel her hand shaking in his.

Jenks looked regretful. "He just disappeared."

Closing her eyes, Bella tried to control her temper. She felt like she was going to explode.

Edward leaned down. He reminded her so very quietly, "Strong, Bella. Be strong "


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: The amazing GeekChic12 wrote a fantastic review of this tale of crazy on the Ficsister's blog. My thanks to her and the lovely ladies there who give fantastic story recommendations every week.**

 **Enjoy!**

Chapter 5

Bella was in a daze. Her head was spinning at what she just saw.

Her father was the most heroic man she has ever known and he just butchered almost an entire wing of innocent people in the hospital.

There was a young nurse with a messy bun piled on top of her head weeping as she sat in a wheelchair. The woman's pastel scrubs were speckled with the blood of her coworkers. She had looked Charles Swan right in the eye and he let her live for one reason only. It was to relay a message to his daughter.

"Tell my girl that Daddy can't wait to see her again," Bella whispered as she repeated the words the nurse told her.

The nurse was certain she was looking into the black eyes of the devil as Charlie told her the message to Bella.

Officer Jenks squeezed Bella's hand, "Agent Swan, we know you had nothing to do with this. Agent Molina suggests that you don't go home right now. There is surveillance around your apartment just in case your father shows up looking for you."

Bella looked at Jenks with a frown. "I need to be there to talk some sense into him."

"Now darlin', we don't know what your dad is thinking right now," He ignored her glare. Those damn feminists were taking over law enforcement. Woman like Isabella Swan were mouthy bitches. Jerks didn't care who her father was. She needed to be pregnant and in front of the stove. He still had some sympathy for her though. The things he saw Charles Swan do on that screen would give him nightmares for months. "It's not safe for you right now. He could hurt you."

"He'd never hurt me," She told him looking petulant. "That was not my father. The Clown did that to him and—"

Edward took her arm. "I'll take her somewhere safe."

He needed to get her out of there now. Bella was about to lose it and there were tons of FBI agents giving him weird looks.

"Hey you, don't I know you from somewhere?" Jerks inquired. He scratched his belly as he tried to figure the guy out. He looked at Edward's tee-shirt and jeans with a frown. This punk shouldn't be here.

Edward gave a tight smile. "I'm Agent Edward Masen from the Metropolis office working undercover with the DEA. I was working on a case with Agent Swan when she got the call about the incident here."

"Guess you don't have much work there with Superman, huh?" Jerks gave a chuckle. "Superheroes are taking all our jobs."

Edward rolled his eyes. He had no use for Superheroes wearing tights. He wished he could shoot the Boy Scout. "Agent Swan, let's go."

Bella let him lead her out of the hospital as she tried not to completely shut down. Her heart was banging in her chest like an anvil. Her father wouldn't actually be coming after her to kill her, would he?

"You're going to be okay." Edward dragged her down the street and into a dark, hole in the wall bar that was near the bus station.

"I'm fine," she sighed as he pushed her into a booth. He slid in beside her. "I can't drink. I'm on duty."

"Bullshit, sweetheart. You're about one minute from either curling up in a ball or crying like a stupid chick. You're aren't that type of gal. You're going to get some liquid courage and figure this shit out." He motioned to a burly, bearded man behind the bar. "We'll take a vodka and a margarita, Bob."

Bella sighed. "Is that margarita for you, handsome?"

"No. Why?"

"A vodka and a Scotch, buddy," Bella told the bartender. "Bring the bottle."

Edward smiled. "I thought you we're on duty."

"I decided that I don't give a shit." It hit her that at a moment like this that drinking would be preferable to crying. Swans don't cry. Bella looked around with a frown. "Nice place you take a lady."

It was a dump. The seats of the fake leather they were sitting on were ripped and stained. There were some posters advertising beer that were tacked onto the walls. The Van Halen playing on the jukebox was a nice added touch.

His hand ran up her thigh. "I think this is a perfect place for a girl like you."

"You do get that I'm not in the mood, Mr. Masen?" Her words were one thing, but Edward noticed she didn't move his hand. There was comfort in the touch of another. Even though that was the touch of a person who should be your mortal enemy.

"That would be Agent Masen to you, Princess." He shot another grin at her. "It was my mother's maiden name. I always liked her when she was around. Elizabeth sang to me all day long."

The bartender came over with their drinks. "Here ya go. You sure you can handle that little lady?"

Bella grabbed the bottle and took a long swig. She didn't even grimace. Wiping her face with her sleeve, she informed him, "I think I've got this."

"Damn, that is so hot," Edward said unthinkingly. Then he straightened up and told her. "You need to be wary of your dad. My dad made those kind of drugs Jasper pumped in him. That kind of shit amplifies your basest instincts."

"So it was already in him? The murderous side." Her heart dropped.

"Yeah, it's in all of us. Just some of us are better at burying it deep. I'll tell you this though, whoever made it was playing with the strong stuff. It could have killed him." He leaned his shoulder into hers. "I'm kind of expert about being forced to have your veins pumped with toxins."

She remembered reading it in his file. When Charlie was taking her to the zoo, Carlisle was using Edward as a human science experiment.

"Dr. Cullen should never have—"

Edward kept talking. He was lost in the memory. "He made me suck it out of his veins like a fucking vampire so he wouldn't DEA was coming to raid our house and he needed to get rid of the stuff. I was like ten and just reading my comic books when he forced me to become something unnatural. The concoction he gave Mom killed her. He just threw her in the closet and fled."

"Shit, I'm sorry." She took another swig of Scotch. Bella needed that burn as it went down her throat.

Edward grabbed the bottle and took a drink too. He squeezed his eyes shut and shivered. "We traveled in this dumpy station wagon all the way from Chicago to Gotham. For three whole days I was in constant pain. I was burning alive and when I woke on the fourth day, my aim was perfect and I was stronger than ever before. Super powers aren't actually cool. I just wanted to be a kid, ya know?"

"Edward, I—"

"We both have Daddy issues now, sweetheart." He took her face in his hands and stroked her cheek. "I'm no hero. I like to kill and I'm proud of it, but I'll give my life for your fine ass."

"We have a problem, sweet talker. If Jasper Whitlock targeted my dad, he knows that I'm involved in Alice's release." Bella looked into Edward's green eyes. "He's already coming after me and not vice versa."

There was a chance Charlie was with Jasper now. Was he being tortured or helping to plan murders? Bella didn't know which option was worse.

Edward pulled her into his lap so she was straddling him. He dipped his finger into where her button down opened and stroked her cleavage. "Then we need to be smarter and more vicious."

"What the hell are you doing, Cullen?" Bella asked as he kept a tight grip on her waist. "This is a public establishment."

"I bet you would love an audience, baby," He ran his lips over her. "Bob doesn't count. I just need to give you a distraction."

"We need to get back and plan." She managed to get out before he kissed her again. Bella stopped the kiss by pulling away. "This place is not where I need to be. My father might be out there with a murderous Clown doing who knows what and you want to make-out like teenagers? This is not okay."

"Let's just forget our fucking Dads for a few minutes," he pleaded. "Distract me."

It was too much sadness thinking about his mother. If he had to see Carlisle right now, the doctor would be lying in a pool of his own blood.

She pulled him closer by his tee-shirt. "Edward, we should stay far away from each other. I'm the good guy in this story."

"You're not the heroine saving the day, Bella Swan. You're just as bad as I am, but your motives are much purer." He wrapped his large hands into her bun and pulled it loose. Brown hair tumbled around her shoulders in waves. "I need your lips on me, because whether you like it or not, we're the opposite sides of the same coin. Distract me."

Coins. Always with the coins in her life since she was young. It made her wonder, however, if her lucky currency wasn't a piece of metal in her pocket after all. It could just be a handsome killer named Edward.

The thoughts in her mind went from flipping quarters covered in red plasma to the taste of Edward's lips as he pressed them to hers. A momentary exit from the worries of tomorrow.

XXXXXX

Alice plopped herself right into the Tyler's lap.

He was trying to read a briefing about a string of robberies that made him wonder if the crooks were getting the tools together to create a bomb. This was the type of reading that he needed to give his full attention to, but Tyler kept worrying about Bella and Charlie.

"Miss Brandon, you need to get off of me." Tyler tried to remove her but she was latched on tightly.

She squeezed her breasts against him. "I need gum. I'll take some Bubblicious, Juicy Fruit, or even some stinky Trident."

"I'll call in your order," Tyler told her dismissively as he continued to try and peel her off. "You need to be dying your hair back to your original shade. We're going to take you to your new office and get you to practice the script you'll use."

"I'm the queen of acting, pumpkin!" She giggled and wiggled in his lap. "You know . . . I like you, Ty Ty. I like big, long, black things just like you. Don't tell my Jazzy or Janey. They'll kill ya and maybe my Jazzy will eat ya. He's a very creative and adventurous eater."

"Miss Brandon—"

She cleared her throat and began to sing, "I knew a handsome agent from Nantucket. I was going to screw him but said fuck it. He made me moan and I made him groan, as I stuck him with my musket."

"You need to get—" Tyler was beginning to lose his temper.

Her face wrinkled up. "That song is a work in progress. I don't even have a stupid musket. Can you get me one for Christmas?"

Tyler missed the old days of digging up clues and bringing down the criminals. Playing babysitter for a group of lunatics was never in his job description. "Please, Miss Brandon—

"Stand up, Miss Brandon," Bella commanded as she marched into the room. There was a fire lit in her soul after her few minutes letting Edward kiss her. She needed to destroy Jasper Whitlock. Rip him into millions of pieces and throw him in with the sharks.

Edward followed along and whistled jauntily behind her. This Bella was coming slowly undone. He enjoyed watching her unravel and become just like him. It was a beautiful thing.

Wrapping her arms around Tyler's neck, Alice purred, "He's super cuddly, pretty Bell. I bet snuggled in his intestines would be comfy."

"Alice, I said for you to get off." Bella pulled the woman up by her thin neck and pushed her hard against a wall. "I need some answers."

The madwoman cackled. "This is so kinky!"

"Shut up!" Bella was about to strangle her.

Tyler took in Bella's loose hair and disheveled appearance. "What happened at the hospital? Is Charles dea—"

Bella looked over at Peter sitting crosslegged in front of the television watching some cartoon with talking ponies. Jacob sat next to him and picked his teeth with a piece of broken wood from a crate. "Change the fucking channel to the news."

"What? I'm watching this, bitch." Peter glanced at Bella defiantly.

One hand still on Alice's neck, Bella pulled out her gun with the other. "You want to die today, Peter? I'm not in the mood. Change it."

"I would listen to her, Petey. Agent Swan is a spitfire today," Edward said cheekily.

Tyler noticed Edward was always in Bella's orbit. If she moved, he would closely follow.

Reluctantly, Peter switched the dial. The screen filled with images of the scene at the hospital with police rushing around the entrance. The whole room watched with rapt attention.

"Bella, what about Charlie?" Tyler asked again. "This is bigger than what they told me on the phone."

She didn't even look at him. "Your boyfriend was at the hospital, Miss Brandon. You see, he was visiting a special patient. My father. Do you remember a Captain Charles Swan?""

Alice's face brightened, "Your daddy? Of course! His face is real pretty now like one of those abstract painting at the museum. He's a real work of art!"

As her neck was tightly squeezed, Alice gurgled.

Michael came out of the bathroom readjusting his pants. "What the hell is going on, Agent Swan?"

He was ignored as usual. Instead, Bella told Alice, "Miss Brandon, Jasper injected my father with some drug. I need to know who he using to make it."

Frowning sadly, Alice said quietly, "I thought Jazzy always liked him enough to keep him alive. I mean why would you make him look so perfect like melting skin snow?"

"He's not dead, Miss Brandon," Bella said slowly to let it all sink in. "Your boyfriend woke him up and made him a vicious monster. After that special concoction, my father murdered most of the people he came in contact with. I need names of who could have made what was in that shot."

"Oh my God," Tyler whispered in shock. Charles Swan was a man he looked up to.

"It wasn't Jane! She's all locked up. My Jane only makes cool stuff with plants. She doesn't mess around with my Jazzy. They hate each other." Alice wrinkled up her face. "It wasn't Dr. C either. He's here with us."

Edward walked over to his father. "Whitlock, Pop? You were playing with fire with that nut."

The doctor didn't look fazed in the least. "It was only a couple of jobs creating an airborne laughing gas that attacks the central nervous system that causes paralyzation. It was quite inspired actually. That clown dressed nincompoop didn't appreciate it. Called in Caius to make some of his uninspired mixtures."

"That's the ticket, Dr. C! It has to be Caius the freaky ghost. Seriously, that dude is pale white and likes to scare people in alleyways. He does some weird stuff with the chemicals. Jane thinks it's completely ridiculous and hurts the environment. She's totally organic when she murders ya." Alice wriggled around a little. "Can ya loosen up a little? If this isn't foreplay then I'm getting bored."

The door opened and there was the clicking of heels on the floor. Bella sighed and let go of Alice. "Hello, Angela."

Dr. Angela Weber, in her blue suit and stylish glasses perched on her nose, looked at Bella with concern. "Bella, I think you need someone to talk to outside."

"We need to give out assignments and start—" Bella's headache was beginning to return as she began to calm down.

"It can wait a little bit." Angela looked at Alice with awe. "Dr. Brandon, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm a huge fan of your thesis about endorphins and the criminal mind."

"Aww sucks, cutie! Thanks a bunch," Alice told her with a grin. She then directed her attention to Bella with a pout. "See how she called me my proper title, Belly Bell? You need to start to respect me like my profession deserves. I'm a physician and I'll replace you with her. Nah, I'm just kiddin'. We're going to be joined at the hip forever, my ringing Bell!"

"Would you please take her out for head shrinking?" Rosalie asked in reference to Alice. "She's interrupting my news viewing."

Emmett shoved a bag of chips in her face. "Sour cream and onion?"

"Fuck you," the blonde replied. "Can we get this party started? I need to kill something."

Bella sighed. "Tyler, you'll start on assignments. We need to make a change with Dr. Cullen. I need you to have him hook up with this Caius guy."

Tyler nodded and started to make notes. The sooner they got these jerks to kill one another the better off they would all be. The only question mark was Charlie. What the hell would they do if they found him?

"He's a scam artist," Carlisle scoffed. Esme gave a squeak. The doctor squeezed her wrist. "Calm, my dear. I'm sure we can convince Agent Swan into letting you be my assistant."

Bella wondered what his angle was.

"You'll do whatever she says," Edward hissed at his father.

"Angela, let's get some coffee and go over what you need to know about the people you'll be working with here." Bella motioned her head to the door. "Newton, I need the files—"

They were swiftly grabbed out of the agent's hand by Garrett. He rushed over to Angela and handed them over with a winning smile. "I think these are for you, Doctor."

Angela took them with a blush. Bella rolled her eyes which made Edward laugh. Bella was the pot calling Angela's kettle black. These two both had a thing for bad boys.

"Bella," Edward called as she headed outside with Angela. "You're doing good, princess."

"Thanks," she quietly replied.

Her chest that was aching for her father was momentarily filled with a need for Edward's touch. It made her feel guilty as sin.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Hey there.**

 **This thing is crazy.**

Chapter 6

There was something about the sweet taste of a vanilla latte that calmed Bella. She was originally a black coffee kind of woman. In her head, she thought it showed strength and a masculinity in the testosterone field she found herself working in. At a certain point, Bella decided she didn't care what her fellow agents thought. Her actions showed her toughness. The way she took her coffee was a ridiculous concern. It was the way she conducted her job that was important.

It didn't escape Bella's notice that Angela took her coffee black.

"We need to talk about your father, Bella."

'We need to talk about deranged villains in a neutral setting." Bella placed the stack of files in front of the psychologist. "Should we start with Esme Platt? She's the one in most need of guidance."

Angela took a big gulp of coffee and grimaced as the hot liquid coursed down her throat. "You need to deal with him being out there, Bella. It could be very dangerous for you if you don't."

The coffee shop was busy at this time of day. It was trying to be a Starbucks with fancy names for the sizes and the cutesy logo featuring a coffee bean. The only difference was that the coffee didn't taste like bitter brew in Bella's opinion. She looked around at the college students typing away on their laptops oblivious that was happening around them outside of this quiet, little establishment. Bella envied them.

"It seems that everyone around me thinks that I've lost all my common sense," she told Angela angrily. "I saw the video of what he did. If you all expect me to hide away in another country until my dad's caught then you'll be highly disappointed. This is my job to take care of him. I'll capture him or take him down permanently."

"Bella—" The psychiatrist's looked at her friend in concern.

Bella tightened her grip on her cup. "Dad would want me to do it. I don't care what Edward says about the darkness already being in my dad. He would never want to hurt innocent people. If I can't fix him then I stop Dad from hurting anyone else by any means necessary."

"You can't kill your father. The emotional turmoil that would occur would be devastating!" Angela took Bella's hand, as a confused look crossed her face. "Edward? You mean Edward Cullen?"

"Angela, would you like to see his file? I have it right here. I'm so glad you're ready to get to work." She started rifling through the files to hide her face. She started feeling like a bug under Angela's microscope. The doctor was peering into her soul at the emotions that were ripping apart her insides.

The doctor tapped on the file that sat before her. "Your face is flushed and your eyes are bright. Lady, you can't even concentrate looking in one place when I said his name. You had intercourse with him."

Angela was taking a calculated guess, but Bella's panicked expression told the doctor everything that she wanted to know.

"I hope you're doing better at hiding what happened when you're around Tyler and Michael. You can lose your badge," she continued. Angela looked at the stressed look at Bella's face and took pity on her. "Honey, I'm just trying to help you."

"I know it was stupid, but these headaches I've been getting and the pressure to not fuck this up made me lose my head. Now with everything with my fath—" Her words tapered off and she just stared at the foam that was slowly disappearing on the top of her drink.

"Hey, I get it. I really do. I mean that Garrett is quite the looker. He makes me wonder what it would be like to be with a guy like that, but we both have to remember what's important right now. We need to concentrate on helping your dad and stopping that evil clown." Angela gave her a wink. "You have me now and I've got your back."

"Thanks, Ang. I really appreciate—" Bella noticed a group of clowns enter the shop. "What the hell?"

There were ten of them who danced around the room. The clowns were frightening with red balls stuck to their noses, faces covered in thick white gunk that made Bella think of zombies, and garish brightly colored wigs stuck on the tops of their heads. It was their smiles that were the most terrifying thing to Bella. The way their lips were colored reminded her of bloody gashes. God, she hated fucking clowns.

A few of the clowns held red and black balloons that were let go into the air. Bella saw the flash of steel in one of the clowns hands.

"Angela, _get_ under the table!"

"What?"

Bella hissed, " _Get_ under the fucking table!"

She pushed the doctor down under the table when all hell broke loose. The clowns were shooting up the coffee shop with wild abandon. Their hideous laughter mixed with screams filled the room as both patrons and baristas were gunned down. The pimply faced boy behind the counter who so politely took her order earlier was now face down in a customer's muffin.

Taking her guns out of the hoister, Bella started shooting at the white faces of the monsters. A couple clowns started fleeing the room, as she followed them out the door. One with a bright blond wig stopped and grinned at her. "Nice shooting, Agent. Daddy said you were the most amazing shot. You win a prize, little girl. How about a nice balloon animal? How about a pretty butterfly for the pretty agent?"

"Jasper Whitlock." Bella raised her gun at his head. "You're under arrest."

He started pumping up a balloon and grinned at her. "You don't have any bullets left, cute stuff. Put the fucking gun down. I like you. I really do. You're going to be oodles of fun."

Bella shot her gun at him but he was correct. She was out of ammunition.

"I told you. Bitches never listen. You must be hanging out with my Alice. You tell her that she's been a very bad girl and her punishment is going to be fierce yet still delightful," He spat as he twisted his balloon. He looked at it with a grin. His mood instantly improved. "This looks fantastic. I'm a gifted artist you see. You should what amazing things I make with bloated bodies."

"My father—"

"Is my new best friend! He's a champ." Jasper pulled out a butcher knife and plunged it into the balloon. A huge explosion of smoke filled the air. "I'll see you soon, cutie pie!"

Bella started choking as Jasper and his few remaining men disappeared.

Angela rushed out of the coffee shop and pulled Bella to her. "Are you okay?"

"He knew we were in there," Bella gasped. "Somebody _told_ him!"

"One of the criminals? How did—"

Bella's eyes narrowed. "It was one of us."

XXXXXX

Edward kept looking at the door waiting for Bella. It had been hours since she went away with the doctor. How long could two women drink coffee?

"Something else is happening around here." Garrett sat next to Edward and opened up a can of soda. "I would pay a million dollars for a beer right now."

"I'm surprised you didn't say you would murder someone," Edward told him. Agent Crowley was on the damn phone again. He wondered if it was about Bella's father. When she was gone, Edward felt uneasy. He couldn't keep her safe if she wasn't with him.

Garrett laughed and slapped Edward's back. "I'm not a criminal like the rest of you. I was set-up, buddy. Agent Swan needs my brains and realizes I know who the real bad guys are. You're worried about her, right?"

"I'm not worried about nothing." Edward pulled out a cigarette and lit it up. "Mostly not some chick who acts like she has a dick."

"Wow! You are full of shit, man. She's pretty and tough. Way too good for you." Garrett glanced at Edward's cigarette. "You need to quit that shit."

Garrett's truth about Bella bore into Edward's brain. He threw the cigarette to the ground and stomped it out. "Yeah, I know."

"About the cancer stick or the girl?"

Edward mumbled, "Both. You a head shrinker?"

"Nope. But I sure want to get intimate with the one that was in here earlier." Garrett's smile dimmed as Angela and Bella came in. "What happened to them?"

Edward stood up and he knew immediately that something terrible happened. Today was cursed.

"Sweetheart—" Edward started to say, but Bella was on a mission.

She held out her hand to Tyler. "I need you phone."

He gave it to her without any hesitation. "Here you go. John called about the clowns. Are you okay?"

"Yes." She scrolled through his messages and call logs. "Trust me, okay?"

Tyler nodded. "Of course."

He noticed Angela shaking next to Bella. "Ang, how are you?"

"There was so much blood," she whispered and collapsed in Tyler's arms.

Bella stomped over to Michael. "Phone."

"No." He gave her a little smile. "What are you trying to prove?"

"That you were trying to get me killed." Bella got in his face. "Why?"

Michael looked completely calm. "You can't prove anything. You _really_ want my phone?"

"Now, Newton."

"You didn't say please." Michael pulled his gun out, placing it on Bella's temple. "Tyler, don't even try getting your gun. I'll kill her. You think you're so smart, Swan? You have nothing."

"Who do you owe money to, Newton?"

Michael laughed. "I'm the one getting money. I'm going to be living the easy life on an island. Native ladies feeding papaya to me everyday in the tropical breeze."

Edward moved slowly to Tyler and stole the agent's gun

"I'm going to take Jacob Black with me," Michael told them with a grin. "I get a bonus from Aro for his tattooed pelt. His words not mine."

Michael pointed his gun to Jacob instead. "Let's go."

"Fuck no!" Jacob bellowed.

The tattooed man knew he was a dead man. It wasn't death that scared him but Aro's creative torture techniques. Jacob rushed at Michael thinking that the agent's surprise would be his undoing. He was wrong.

Michael shot him in the head. Jacob fell onto the ground in a heap.

"I didn't really need that bonus anyway. I bet The Clown would give me lots for you, Swan. Come on." Michael waved his gun at her chest.

Edward shot him in the throat . Blood poured out of the wound and Michael fell to the ground next to Jacob.

Taking a deep breath, Bella steadied herself. She needed to find her calm again. "Tyler, Jacob grabbed your gun and shot Michael, In response, you took him down. I need you to set the scene and call our guys. It was an undercover sting gone wrong."

"Bella, we need to—" Tyler knew she was slowly losing it.

"I'll get the rest back to the hotel and I really need a shower." She looked down at her shirt. It was covered in Michael's blood. She could taste it on her lips. "Angela needs a room now. The Clown knows about her."

Tyler looked at Bella's stone faced expression. He wasn't going to push her right now. "Okay."

Alice came skipping out of the bathroom. Her hair was a sleek dark pixie cut. She looked at the bodies in dismay. "Damn it! I miss all the fun!"

Bella gave Edward a heated look and he smiled. He was going to wash this awful day off of her even if it took hours. He hoped that it would.


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Hi.**

Chapter 7

As soon as the water hit her skin, it turned crimson and ran down her body into the drain below. The red water that didn't reach the drain ended up in Edward's mouth as he licked Bella's soft flesh under the spray of the shower.

His tongue wandered down her neck and onto the curves of her shoulder until he reached her breasts. Edward sucked her nipples into his mouth and the taste of the blood of that asshole Newton mingled with the salt of Bella's skin. The sensation made him feel like a god.

"That's Mike's blood," Bella gasped, as Edward nibbled her chest.

Edward looked at her with a wicked smile. "Dad had been forcing me to drink plasma in smoothies since I was a kid. Jackass is just more of the same."

"Do you want mine? My blood?" She twisted her hands into his wet hair.

"I want your everything, Isabella Swan."

Her legs were pulled around his waist, and he plunged into her hard. Bella's back hit the tile and she sighed happily as the pain in her brain eased.

Edward stilled as he held her against his body. His hands gripped her ass and he stared at the way her lips curled in impatience. "I can't figure you out, lady."

"Let me help you. I'm the type of woman that needs you to pound that very pointy dick into me as quickly and powerfully as possible." She tugged on his soaked hair causing a sharp pain at her action. It made him smile. "Could you possibly get to it?"

"Agent Swan, I think you might be using me."

"I think you're probably right." She bit his lip and licked the blood that pooled up on it. "Not that tasty, Cullen. Your taste for blood is kind of gross, vampire boy."

He ignored her teasing. Slowly he moved in her. "There's more to this, Bella. I think—"

"Go back to calling me Agent Swan and I think you need to go faster." Bella moved her hips hoping to spur him into moving quicker. It didn't work.

"Nah, Bella. I think you want something more intense. There's more to you than some frigid FBI agent." Edward gripped her as she tried to wriggle off of him. "We're not done."

She narrowed her eyes. "This probably isn't the time to play pretend psychologist, Cullen. I have Angela or that nut Alice if I've completely lost my mind."

"You have something inside you. I can feel it. I need to know what makes you tick." He pulled out a little. It made her ache and it pissed her off royally.

"Either hurry up or let me dry off. The water is getting cold," she huffed. Bella's mind was starting to whirl again with worries about what was happening outside this bathroom.

Edward snorted. He carried her out of the bathroom and dropped her wet, naked body onto the ugly bedspread. Bella looked up at him in annoyance and tried to gather up the cover to wrap around herself, but Edward just tossed it onto the floor. He climbed on top of her, kissing the curves of her body and taking her hands to lift them over her head.

"What do you think you're doing?" She asked with wide eyes.

"I'm having sex with you on a bed, woman," he explained. "Not that having the occasional quickie against a wall isn't a blast, but I don't want you to make it a habit thinking that's the way I roll."

Edward nibbled on her ear making her stifle a moan.

She tried to remove him with her knees. "This isn't what I had in mind. It's much too—"

"Intimate?" He flashed a wicked grin. "It would be a damn shame for you to have to admit that you actually like me a little."

"Edward—" Breaking the rules for relief was bad enough, but to admit that she might see something more in this man was truly going over the line. Bella felt a connection and it made her feel weak.

He kissed her softly. "You need more tonight, honey."

Slowly, Edward let her hands go. He used his mouth to trail a path to between her legs and he sucked the skin there so gently that Bella whole body trembled. Tongue slipping in and out, he gripped her thighs. A humming came out from him that made her come completely undone. The vibrations were even making her soul quake.

"You see how nice that is?" Edward looked up at her from his position between her legs. Bella sat up and rested on her elbows. The headache was gone and what was left was an awakening in her body. She could feel her cells changing. It occurred to her that she felt stronger and more alive. It made her wonder if the electricity inside of her was always about to erupt or if it was because of Edward.

"I want you in me now," Bella told him. Edward was taken aback by the complete command in her voice.

He smirked and tried to lighten up the moment. Bella frightened him with the power that seemed to invisibly radiate off of her, but it was also an aphrodisiac. "Hard and fast? It seems to be your way. You have no patience, girl."

"I want to feel you," She moved and pushed him down on the bed with such force that he bounced on the mattress. Climbing on his chest, Bella raked her fingers down his abdomen leaving red marks that made her think of crimson rivers. "This just feels right."

Her fingers stroked his dick with languid movements making him hard. Edward was at her mercy. "Please."

Lowering herself on him, Bella controlled the way she rode him. His fingers tapped up and down her back like he was playing the keys on the piano. It occurred to her that whatever tune he was noiselessly playing could be their song. She moved her nose to caress his in a gentle touch. "You feeling what I am?"

Edward just nodded before kissing her. Their bodies were igniting at a deeper level than just a passionate interlude. The song he couldn't stop playing onto her skin at first was one his mother used to whistle as she hung laundry outside of the trailer they used to live in when he was very young, but then the tune morphed into something more primal. It was the beating of their hearts and the pulse of their atoms becoming something entirely new. They were changing each other.

He wanted to ask if she had an inkling about why this was happening, but instead he got lost in her movements and they way his body was responding to hers. Every kiss was a fire in his veins. When he finally erupted into her, Edward thought they would spontaneously combust.

It was not a surprise, when she collapsed on him. Her ear pressed against his heart. The beating was rapid and she knew that hers was exactly the same.

Wrapping his arms around her, Edward kissed her hair. "Bella, I'm scared."

"I am too," she admitted.

Terrified of this new unknown where there was no escape.

XXXXXX

The beeping of her phone woke Bella out of a deep slumber. Edward's head was resting on her chest with one hand fondling her breast as he slept. His finger would pinch around her nipple causing her to moan softly at the sensation.

It would have been prudent to send him on his way after having intercourse, but Bella didn't want to part from him. Her fingertips felt electric. She ran them down his neck causing him to shiver and smile. His mouth pressed against her skin.

She grabbed her phone and sighed at Tyler's messages. It was time to start the mission before the clown could win the next round.

"Edward, we need to get up." She gently shook his shoulder.

He mumbled, "Your boyfriend on his way back?"

"Agent Crowley is on his way back now. He's going to take your father and Esme to an apartment complex near the docks. Its quiet there for her and too many of you make her volatile. I have another agent ready to take Hale and McCarty. The rest of you are with me and Angela. We have a new meet-up location in a pizza parlor downtown," she explained sharply.

"Pizza parlor?" Edward asked looking skeptical. He ran a finger down her cheek. Touching her was like an addiction now. He was become an addict for the heat of her skin being against him.

"Seth is a good friend. Newton didn't know him. I always like to have several back-ups." Bella looked at the alarm clock next to the bed and sighed. "Tyler and I just work together, Edward. You need to chill out around him. He has good instincts about when something is up."

"I'm the jealous type, baby," he admitted. He ran a finger over her lips."You trust him. I hate that. Crowley is the type of guy you should be with. I'm so _very_ bad."

"Give me a reason to trust you and I will. It seems I kind of like bad." She licked his nipple and wiggled out from under him. "My friend has a farmhouse we can use. No one will know where we're staying there. My dad doesn't even know about it."

Pulling her back against him, Edward placed little kisses against her spine. "Can we share a room?"

"We need to be discreet," she scolded.

He bit her shoulder and wrapped his arm around her waist. "I can try but I'm not promising shit, Swan."

This was a deadly game they were playing. They both needed to think with their heads and not with their out of control hormones.

"You'll get us killed." Bella gave a smirk.

He smirked back. "We'll keep each other alive."

XXXXXX

Jasper watched Aro waddle around the room. The angry, dark-haired man was muttering to himself angrily. He was poking his own arm with an icepick. The show made Jasper giggle hysterically.

"If it's heads, I'll shoot him quickly in the heart. Tails means his kneecaps," Charlie announced from where he was sitting on a leather chair in front of a roaring fire. He rolled his quarter between his fingers and stared into the flames. "I'm getting a headache."

Jasper waved his finger at him. "No, you don't. We need him right now. I think you should have another Scotch, Chuck."

Charles gave him a chilly look. Jasper was certain that the detective was about to blow his brains out.

The clown gave a big grin. "Don't be sour, Chuck! Aro is just disappointed that he didn't get to have some fun with tattoo man. That agent had some important information for us and now we need to get creative. I'm a little blue myself, but we make lemonade laced with arsenic with those lemons. Let me show you!"

Opening a beer next to the bar was some random thug that Jasper added to his crew on a whim. Jasper gave a snort and threw a knife that landed right between the man's blue eyes. The poor guy didn't know what hit him. "See how that worked. I feel refreshed! Your turn, Chuck! You can have that one. I think he's Jim or maybe Bob? Doesn't really matter."

A bald man who was sitting on the floor eating a piece of beef jerky threw his hands up in the air. Food flew out of his mouth as he protested, "Nah, boss! No need for—"

Charlie tossed his coin and grinned. He shot the man in the chest and smiled serenely as the body fell like a rag doll. "That was relaxing."

"I told ya! You really do like killing things, Chuck. Was it the police work or something more creative? You seem like the creative type of gent. I saw that in you at the beginning. There was that glimmer when you tried to arrest me."

The older man stroked his mustache, lost in a memory. "I strangled Bella's mother. Caught her in bed with some hack baseball player. Phil Dwyer was his name. I'll never forget it or the look in his eyes when I cut off his penis and fed it to him."

"Damn, Chuck! That's cold. Can I borrow that move? It sounds like a blast!" Jasper started twitching in excitement. He has some options of individuals to experiment on.

"It is what it is, Jasper Whitlock. I didn't think I was going to like it so much. Bella was just so little at the time and I didn't trust myself. I threw myself into police work to get a chance to get the rush without ending up behind bars." Charlie poured himself some more Scotch. The amber liquid in the glass seemed to dance from the light of the fire as he swished it around the glass. "I should thank you."

"Thank me? I disfigured you and left you in a coma. I'll take it, but why aren't you trying to gouge out my eyes?" Jasper opened a beer and took a swig.

Charlie patted Jasper's knee. "You freed me, son. I can be my true self. There's only one thing missing."

"The lovely Isabella? I do like her, Chuck. That girl has something magical." Jasper pounded on his chest. "Watching her kill all my boys and dodge every bullet made my heart go pitter patter. Can I call you Dad?"

"What about Alice?" James asked from the doorway. He was twirling a knife in his hands. Alice, sweet Alice, who haunted his dreams.

Jasper looked at him with a sneer. "She's my girl, James. Don't you forget it. Alice likes brunettes. We'll be fine once I get my Alice back. We'll be one happy family creating anarchy throughout the land."

"That's my daughter you're talking about," Charlie reminded him. "You respect her. She's better than you."

"Oh Chuck, I give that girl nothing but respect. Bella is a firecracker!" Jasper thought about the way the woman moved between the bullets flying in her direction. It was like a dance as she flitted around the cafe as she was gunning down his clowns. Isabella was poetry in motion. How did she escape all those bullets?

"Why are we talking about having another cop joining us? That stupid bitch is going to get us killed or in Arkham!" Aro raged.

Charlie shot him in the leg. Aro cried out in pain and collapsed on the rug weeping. The blood pooled out onto the fabric creating a dark stain. Jasper looked at Charlie in surprise, causing the older man to shrug. "I didn't kill him. You should be happy."

"James take Aro to Caius to fix up." Jasper put his feet up on an ottoman. "You just forget the coin flip, Chuck. Found it to be an interesting choice. I like surprises mostly when I'm the one doing it but not so much when others are changing things up."

There were ways Jasper expected people to be. He observed Charlie with suspicion.

"When it comes to my kid, I don't need it." Charlie sat back and watched James drag Aro away.

Charles Swan couldn't help feeling a sense of a kind of happiness. Everything was going to plan.


End file.
